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City Council wants more landfill facts

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

(Updated Thursday, November 19 - 5:31 am)

By Amanda Lehmert
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — The city will recruit experts to speak to northeast Greensboro residents about the potential health affects of landfills.

City Council members asked the city staff to set up that meeting Tuesday night, after hearing from state public health officials about recent research on Greensboro’s White Street Landfill and the E. H. Glass landfill.

The issues raised around the city’s landfill have been brought to the forefront recently, as City Council members consider how the city should deal with its trash.

The city asked the county health department to determine whether there was any evidence to support resident’s concern that there were higher rates of cancer in the area of the landfills.

An state analysis of the cancer cases around the city and private landfill found more incidents of pancreatic cancer than expected. The research was not designed to explain the cause of the cancer and did not indicate any link between the landfills and the disease.

Some City Council members and residents that came to speak felt the research was not enough to resolve concerns of those living around the landfill.

“We talked about how neighbors are dying,” said Councilwoman Goldie Wells, who represents the district where the city landfill is located. “We want to have some facts. Are they dying because of the landfill?”

Karen Knight, from the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry, said the state may conduct further research to determine whether the demographic makeup of the area affected the findings of the cancer analysis.

African Americans have higher incidences of pancreatic cancer than whites and the study area has more black residents than the statewide average used in the research.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources also plans to test soil and water from the Glass landfill site.

In the meantime, City Council members asked that the city facilitate a meeting with experts to provide the answers neighbors need, a recommendation made by Councilman Zack Matheny.

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com

Accompanying Photos

File photo (News & Record)

Photo Caption: The White Street Landfill, seen in this 2001 photo, was closed to all but construction and yard waste in 2006.

Additional Photos

CITY COUNCIL INSIDER

More news from Tuesday’s meeting:

Incentive granted to LabCorp
The City Council voted 8-0 to give Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, also called LabCorp, up to a $373,000 cash incentive for locating its billing operations in Greensboro. Councilwoman Mary Rakestraw was absent at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

LabCorp is headquartered in Burlington. The new facility will bring 373 new jobs, with an average salary of about $26,000 plus benefits, in the next three years. Greensboro is competing against other cities, including Danville, Va., to get the new site.

Pool progress
The City Council voted 7-1 to use hotel-motel tax to fill a $6 million funding gap for the planned aquatics center at the Greensboro Coliseum. Councilwoman Trudy Wade voted no.

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brian444

November 18, 2009 - 2:16 am EST

"Some City Council members and residents that came to speak felt the research was not enough to resolve concerns of those living around the landfill."

Those concerns will not be resolved by any amount of research. These folks are "concerned" because they don't want a landfill around. As long as that concern remains, they will find other concerns (health risks, racial oppression, etc.) that allow them to argue against the landfill. A certain amount of "facilitation" is probably in order, but it's foolish to believe that "experts providing the answers neighbors need" will do any good, since the only answer they need (or at any rate, want) is that the landfill is a horrible thing.

Brandon Burgess

November 18, 2009 - 8:06 am EST

Thank you for writing an article that is a fair representation of the facts. As demonstrated in the article, some folks, even council-woman Goldie Wells still do not acknowledge that while there is a landfill in the area, there is also a former chemical dumpsite in the area, called EH Glass.

Brandon Burgess

November 18, 2009 - 11:45 am EST

I've just finished reading the report on EH Glass. Thank you for providing that. So is it the case that we now have two reports that conclude there is nothing toxic seeping or emanating from either of these landfills? That there is no health risk to residents living near these places?

If we can figure out a way to alleviate traffic concerns on White Street, then there should be no objection to re-opening White Street to city trash.

Brandon Burgess

November 18, 2009 - 4:42 pm EST

I'd like to offer this quote from the News and Record from September 17, 2007, from an article celebrating the life of the late Claudette Burroughs-White:

"...people in that community knew the landfill was causing a higher than average rate of cancer and other diseases."

I'd like to know where these folks got their information. If this is the reason the landfill was closed, and now we are learning there is no risk of cancer, than we need to re-open the landfill immediately.

Of course, if we learn, like Goldie Wells says, that the landfill does in fact "cause cancer", it should remain closed.

buzzman

November 18, 2009 - 8:24 am EST

We have an awful lot of closed minds in NE Greensboro. They are digging in and will not change their minds even if the health folks determine that the landfill is actually producing benefits to neighbors' health!
I predict that logical heads will prevail and that the landfill will eventually be reopened to household waste which will be processed by modern technology.
Did anyone notice the look on Yvonne Johnson's face while she was sitting there listening to what she didn't want to hear? Priceless!
Since the N&R is selective in which stories can be commented on, I'll comment here on another. Why are we seeing an article on a shooting that happened in Raleigh to a black hoodlum? Oh I forgot! It's because he is black and is father is a civil rights activist!

Beachwalk

November 18, 2009 - 9:46 am EST

Goldie Wells said She didn't care what studies or experts said, the issue is about quality of life.
Well how about the quality of life for EVERYONE in Greensboro whose taxes and/or fees will have to go up because of the closing of the Landfill? Paying higher taxes and fees also affects people's quality of life. And it affects EVERYONE in Greensboro. Greensboro is made up of more than just a northeast side. Wells is not looking after the best interest of Greensboro as a whole. The homeowners knew what they were buying and what was nearby when they bought their property near the landfill. It is time to look at what is in the best interest of Greensboro as a whole.
Good riddance Goldie.

Brandon Burgess

November 18, 2009 - 10:59 am EST

Goldie Wells stated months ago that the landfill "causes cancer".

Hopefully, Jim Kee will take a more reasonable approach to such an important situation. I've been unfairly rough on him up to this point, but I'm keeping an open mind and I am hopeful that he will do some good for my district. I think he and Mayor Johnson both want to re-open the landfill as long as they can get a company in there to "turn our waste into gold".

I've also been unfairly judgemental towards that project but again, I'm keeping an open mind.

Brandon Burgess

November 18, 2009 - 11:02 am EST

I'd like to add that Ms. Wells has proposed the most illogical solution to date. While others are considering re-opening the White St. landfill and some others are looking into regional solutions, Goldie Wells has proposed during her rant about landfills being racist and how they cause cancer, that we open another landfill in Greensboro in a more affluent neighborhood even though she believes landfills cause cancer and even though we already have a landfill that has been around for decades; before many of the residents moved into the White St. area.

Leonard

November 18, 2009 - 11:26 am EST

This whole mess got started when Mike Barber said that the costs to operate the transfer station were excessive. The council needs to find a way to decrease those costs. There are ways to decrease the costs at that facility. How in the world did the council get off the track and go crazy with soliciting proposals for other waste disposal methods that could cost the citizens of Greensboro millions of additional monies? The council needs to stop this insanity and investigate all the operational costs at the transfer station. Also Republic Garbage Company already has a landfill down near the water park. Greensboro's garbage could be sent there instead of hauled 70 miles away and save us taxpayers a whole lot of money.

healymon

November 19, 2009 - 2:33 pm EST

Why would anyone apologize to Ms Bellamy-Small , Goldie Wells or Mayor Johnson or to the other african americans in the audience at the recent Council meeting for explaining the health study? Experts conducted the study and explained that racial and ethnic makeup and lifestyle contributes to the incidence of illnesses....PERIOD. There are many studies, conducted by numerous impartial groups of experts, which show the entire STATE of NC has a higher incidence of Multiple Myloma and Pancreatic Cancers in african americans than in all other groups....PERIOD. You are not being blamed or criticized for being african american!!! You are being INFORMED! Like you said you wanted. If this is not your true desire, than speak the truth, get the facts and move on!!! Make an informed decision. You may need to move out of the state of NC because this is the case in the entire state.......problem is, it is also the case in the rest of the states. You had better change races, then. People are trying to help, but these people don't want to be helped. Very, very sad.